It's time for the latest story to begin, which for those wondering, is a sequel to both Omega Chronicles and Atmos Campaign (and Intention's Eye by extension). For those who haven't read those, here's a quick recap.

Darth Maul has spread his power through the criminal underworld, eventually deposing Aria T'Loak and taking control of Omega, turning the station into a mobile battle fortress.

Meanwhile, Shipmaster Laccabeus and his carrier Intention's Eye have been drawn into conflict with the PMC known as the First Order. Their latest battle on the world of Atmos left both sides battered and desperate to rebuild.

This story takes place after these events and will lead to interesting developments in the future. But for now, let's begin the first chapter of this latest story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Halo, Mass Effect or any other franchise that appears in this story.

It was over; the Flood had won.

Billions of worlds had fallen to the Parasite's ravenous hunger, as countless more had been consumed by the Flood. The Republic and Separatists had all but been eradicated, their leaders missing.

He watched as everything he built crumbled before him, his armies and fleets crushed to dust. He and his brother were all that remained, fighting a losing battle against armies of the dead.

A shadow loomed over them and he looked up, into the vast maw of the Gravemind. Tentacles wrapped around him, restraining and forcing him to watch his brother fell to the onslaught, returning as one of them. He looked up to the monster, feeling terror as he had never felt before.

"Thank you for opening the gate."

...

The vision had ended and Darth Maul couldn't help his panicked breathing. Focusing inward, he got himself under control, just as Savage Opress walked into his ready room, with a concerned look.

"Brother?"

"I'm fine, Savage." Maul shook his head. "It was nothing." Savage said nothing for a moment and let his brother and master clear his head before speaking.

"The other crime lords have reported that everything is currently proceeding as planned." The Nightbrother reported. "Recruitment has added thousands more to our cause."

"Excellent." Maul stood up. "Tell the bridge to take us to the Fathar system. I have business on Lorek."

Savage nodded and left, leaving Maul alone with his thoughts. Idly, he switched the security holograms on, taking a look at the skyline. Omega was barely recognizable now, with all the buildings leveled to serve as space for his factories.

The former capital of the Terminus Systems now served as his flagship, becoming a key part of the Shadow Collective operations. The remaining population of the asteroid had been enslaved to serve as labor or soldiers in his growing empire.

Quite a few had to be purged, of course, when he had toppled Aria T'Loak, but this still left just under five million sentients serving him, not even counting the others in his growing criminal empire.

And still all that paled compared to the many greater powers. He needed more allies, more resources, or he risked falling once more. And if the Flood returned... he would die before he served that monster again.

Turning away from the security console, he left the room to manage his kingdom.

...

And far away, dark laughter echoed through the stars.

Ambition.

If there was any word that described the Illusive Man (and there were a number of words that described him, with both positive and negative connotations), it would be personified in his ambition.

He had died for his foolish ambition to control the Reapers, but his clone had inherited that same ambition, and with the value of hindsight, his progenitor was clearly proven correct in his beliefs.

Now, the new Illusive Man had been reborn and under the influence and direction of the Office of Naval Intelligence, had rebuilt Cerberus from the ashes, like the Phoenix of old. But recent events had taken their toll and he knew that he had become a liability to ONI. He needed allies from elsewhere, and was currently in discussion with a potential ally right now.

General Snoke, the leader of a small Imperial PMC known as the First Order was standing before him on the holopad, listening to the Illusive Man as he outlined the offer of an alliance between the small group and the human-supremacist organization.

Once he had done all that, the Illusive Man waited as Snoke quietly mulled over his offer, letting the General come to his own conclusion, while at the same time, not letting his desperation show.

"That's all very well and good." Snoke spoke after a minute. "But it begs the question; why are you making this offer to me? Surely, there are other factions in the multiverse that could help you. Factions that have far more resources than the First Order."

"But none that share our goals." The Cerberus leader responded. "You want to bring order and human dominance to the multiverse. As do I."

He wasn't being entirely truthful, admittedly. Cerberus had quite an unpopular reputation in the multiverse at large, and reaching out to them like this wouldn't have ended well. There was also the fact that Snoke and his men were currently below ONI's notice.

After recent events since Cerberus' revival, the Illusive Man had been sure that Admiral Osman was planning to remove him, but it seemed that the chaos that had resulted from the Tevos' scandal and the subsequent events regarding Omega had drawn ONI's attention elsewhere.

Of course, that was liable to change sooner rather than later, but if they played this right, the First Order could be elevated far above what they were now. A thought that was clearly crossing Snoke's mind, given the expressions on his face.

"I shall have to discuss this further with my commanders, Illusive Man." The general said. "I'm assuming I can contact you again when I've reached a decision?"

"Of course, take all the time you need." The Illusive Man replied, watching impassively as the call terminated. "And for both of our sakes, I hope you choose correctly."

...

Snoke sighed once the connection terminated, mulling over the offer he had just received. It was tempting, he couldn't deny that, but the idea of working with the Illusive Man made his skin crawl.

The First Order leader wasn't a fool; he was aware of Cerberus' reputation, and while no saint himself, Snoke had found himself appalled at what the human-supremacist organization had stooped to. Hell, even at its height, the Empire hadn't been nearly as brutal either.

But despite his discomfort, he knew that he didn't have many options. The latest debacle on Atmos had cost the First Order dearly in troops and supplies, and the PMC was barely scraping by as is.

With Cerberus' help, they could bring themselves back from the brink, and even establish themselves to greater heights than before. If worse came to worse, he could simply have the Illusive Man killed once he was no longer useful.

But before all that, Snoke had to discuss this with Captains Hux and Phasma, as well as their Sith ally Vestara Khai. Only after hearing their seasoned opinions would he make his final decision.

Far away, in an entirely separate universe, a similar scene was happening elsewhere on the CAS-class assault carrier known as the Intention's Eye, which had just emerged from the same battle the First Order had been in.

Unfortunately, the irony was lost to Shipmaster Laccabeus, who was completely unaware of what his enemy was up to, and was more focused on the offer being delivered to him via hologram by another Jiralhanae known as Atriox.

"Long ago, I made you an offer. To let you and your crew stand with me as equals." Atriox clasped his arms behind his back. "My offer still stands. Join me, and together we can accomplish great things."

"Join your Banished? Or what? You will hunt us down and have us killed?"

"I'm disappointed Shipmaster." Atriox actually was. "I have no quarrel to pick with you."

"Be that as it may, what exactly can you claim to offer us?" Laccabeus replied. "My crew has survived the worst the multiverse can throw at us. The Supreme Commander of the Republic is proof of that."

"And... what is your goal exactly?" The Banished leader pointed out. "Wander aimlessly through the multiverse, fighting anyone you come across, whittling down your forces until you're inevitably crushed? We both know your survival against the Republic leader was when he was at his least experienced and powerful. I can offer you a purpose; something beyond aimless violence."

"And what is your plan, exactly?" Laccabeus countered. "I am still connected enough to know that the Shadow Collective could match your forces. And even if you could go against the IDA and win, your army would have no chance against either the Republic or Separatists."

"Nor do I intend to go against them." The Banished Chieftain replied. "They will keep the Parasite away from us, a benefit to all."

Unlike most of the Covenant Remnant factions, the Banished had made it out of the Great Flood war relatively unscathed, due to their mastery of scavenging and raiding. However, Atriox was not deluded; he knew that the Parasite barely considered his forces worth the time when compared to the IDA and the multiversal superpowers. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the Chieftain had always been a pragmatic being.

"And what of the IDA?" Laccabeus interjected. "The Republic and Separatists may be busy, but the InterDimensional Alliance is still far larger, more powerful, and more united than your Banished."

"The Shadow Collective might disagree." Atriox noticed Laccabeus' fist clenching at the mention of the criminal organization, and resolved to keep an eye on that. "Besides, they haven't caught us yet."

"The IDA is weak." He continued. "That Sith Lord has already proven that fact in recent times. They can be beaten, they can be broken."

"You can't possibly believe that." Laccabeus said. "If you truly think the IDA can be beaten head on, you're delusional."

"No they can't be beaten head on." Atriox agreed. "But that was never my goal."

"Do you even have a goal?" The Shipmaster repeated.

"Do you?" Atriox countered again. "I'd say you were trying to commit some form of suicide, but that's never been your style. And yet since you've returned, you've lost soldiers, equipment and vehicles in petty and pointless conflicts. How many of your troops have survived your latest conflict with the First Order?" The words stung and Laccabeus couldn't help the low growl that rumbled from his throat.

Unfortunately, Laccabeus couldn't deny the truth of Atriox's words: his forces were getting depleted with each battle, both in manpower and equipment. The latter was especially prominent after their escape from Atmos; in their haste to escape the Flood, and the Republic and Separatists, the Intention's Eye had to leave behind a lot of material.

Oh they had grabbed whatever they could and scrapped anything they couldn't, but the outcome was still the same. Laccabeus was low on supplies to feed his troops, and low on weapons and vehicles to even equip them for another battle. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help.

"Very well." Laccabeus said, sighing inwardly as he did. "Send me the coordinates of where you want to meet. We'll discuss this further."

And that's the end of this chapter. I know it was kinda slow, and I'm not going to lie, the next few chapters aren't going to have a whole lot of action in them, but it will pick up eventually, I promise you that.

Anyway, with all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter in this latest story, and reviews are always welcome.